List,
I saw a comment on the list about there being no wide tire guys and no spins
at World Finals. Both statements are inaccurate.
We campaign the big red pickup truck and have, up until WF, run Pirelli
P6000 Z-rated tires on the back. This tire has an agressive rain groove
pattern. The fronts have always been 26" Firestone Bonneville tires. The
truck has always driven straight and solid with NEVER a hint of tire slip at
speeds up to 193.
When we showed up for WF, we were told by the inspector that we could not
run the Pirellis even though by the letter of the rule book, they were
legal. After several minutes of practicing my best Keith Turk imitation with
the inspector, we agreed to change our tires. Fortunately after driving 1605
miles to the meet, we had brought along a plan-B set of tires and axles.
We moved the 26" Firestones to the back and put a set of 22" Firestones on
the front. Both sets of tires had tubes and we were further chastised by the
inspectors despite the fact that the tires were not marked "tubeless" and
therefore required tubes according to the copy of the rules that was sent to
me. (yet, I digress).
Despite the fact that the salt was in excellent condition, I was able to
spin the narrow tires at will. The truck had a much greater propensity to
drift around on the course and felt much less connected. Sure, all these are
subjective, but in the past I never had a hint that the vehicle wanted to
spin. With this tires setup, I didn't have that confidence. I told Dan
Warner that this was just an exercise to force me to 'really drive'! <grin>
After a half-dozen passes or so, we wanted to send a guy down for some
license runs. Since he was going to be slower, we put the Pirellis back on
the rear. His first pass was cut short when a rocker shaft broke in second
gear, but throughout first gear, the truck was hooked up solid and didn't
exhibit any tire spin or driftiness.
And I DID see a fellow in a Monza go around and around - the first spin I've
personally witnessed. To the best of my knowledge, he was running B-ville
type tires (but I could be wrong). I also noticed that Rex Svoboda and the
blue Maclaren were running fat treaded tires, as was the Car & Driver
S-2000, neither of which spun to the best of my knowledge. Then of course
there was the '53 Studebaker with the Nascar scuffs that didn't spin...
If this comes down to a safety issue, then certainly I have no problem with
leaving the treaded tires at home, but to me the ride on the narrow tires
seemed less safe... If it is a perceived issue about the tires coming apart
at speed, then I can't understand how the same type of tire can run at high
speeds on hot asphalt for hours, but would somehow fail on the relatively
short blast on the salt.
While I certainly have great respect for everyone that has many years racing
on the salt, and their opinions, I also believe that tire technology has
advanced so much in the last 20 years, that one simply cannot apply all
historical lessons to the current tire technology.
And, as always, I reserve the right to be full of crap...
Jim Webb
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